This. Germany suffered a shocking 2-1 loss to Japan in their World Cup debut as Bundesliga stars Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano came off the bench to upset the four-time champions.
Ilkay Gundogan's first-half penalty gave Germany a lead in Group E, and they made headlines by covering their mouths in pregame protest over FIFA's decision to bar Manuel Neuer from donning the OneLove armband.
The Freiburg forward Doan made them pay 15 minutes from time with a rebound after Hansi Flick's team missed a number of excellent chances to end the game.
Asano raced onto a long ball and fired beyond Neuer, giving Germany one last twist as they sought a victory. This put Die Mannschaft under intense pressure going into Sunday's match against Spain.
When Daizen Maeda pushed Daichi Kamada's early cross into the net, the offside flag rescued Germany, but Japan was the master of their own downfall when Flick's team took the lead after 33 minutes. Germany was awarded a penalty kick when goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda crudely fouled David Raum, and Gundogan calmly converted it.
Following Gonda's save from Joshua Kimmich, Kai Havertz scored from an offside position, but a VAR review stopped Germany from scoring a second. After the restart, Gundogan hit the base of the post.
Germany continued to have opportunities, but Japan shocked them at the other end when Doan capitalized on a rebound to score into the roof of the net. Gonda denied Gnabry three times in quick succession as Germany continued to have opportunities.
Niklas Sule's poor positioning allowed Asano to stay onside from a long ball with seven minutes remaining, and he smashed beyond Neuer to seal a historic victory for Japan.
WHY DOES THAT MATTER? PRESSURE FOLLOWING COLLAPSE ON GERMANY
The fact that Luis Enrique's Spain will be Germany's second opponent in Group E made Wednesday's first result essential, but Japan's mix of poor defense and effective attacking play lost them three points.
German teams had gone 21 games without losing after taking a lead at the half until they suffered their first World Cup setback since 1978 (a 3-2 loss to Austria).
Additionally, Flick's squad made history by becoming the first team to lose a World Cup match after scoring more than three predicted goals (xG).
HE BEGAN IN BOCHUM AND IS PRESENTLY HERE.
Asano, a winger for Bochum, has yet to score in six Bundesliga games this year, but after coming on at the Khalifa International Stadium in the 57th minute, the 28-year-old altered the course of the match.
Despite spending little time on the field, Asano outperformed his teammates in the Germany zone in terms of shots (five) and touches (five), and he exhibited no signs of nervousness when one-on-one with Neuer as he shoots.
BLUE SAMURAI SCORE DURING A BREAK
In their first big tournament game under former Bayern Munich coach Flick, Germany was always expected to set the pace, yet on Wednesday, Japan was restricted to just 26.2% possession.
That percentage is the second-lowest ever recorded by the winning side in a World Cup game, after only South Korea's 26% against Germany in 2018.
NEXT, WHAT?
On Sunday, Japan plays Costa Rica, while Germany plays Spain in a critical Group E match.
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